St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1887-04-18
MEADE'S TRIAL TO-DAY
For Shootings Frank Farnsworth Frank
Meade Will Appear in Court
This Morning.
He Appears in Good Health and Spirits
and Is Confident of the
Result.
Able Counsel Employed for the De-
Tense, Who Do Not Announce
It's Nature.
Brief Review of the Scenes in Which
Farnsworth deceived the
Fatal Wound.

Frank Meade whose trial for shooting
Frank FarnswOrth begins in the district
court to-day, was visited by a GLOBE re-
porter at the jail yesterday. He is looking
well, Notwithstanding his long confinement,
and is feeling very confident as to the re-
suit of his trial His wife, who lives in
Pennington, has been, in the city during the
past week, and has been with her husband
great deal of the time. Mr.. Meade has
stood his confinement well, and though
somewhat whitened, is apparently in good
health.
The trial has awakened considerable in
terest in st. Paul, not only because Hon. c.
K. Davis and William Erwin have been re-
tanned by the defense. but because the de-
PENDANT is we'll known here although for
some time previous to the shooting he had
resided in Mandan, Oak Frank Farms
worth, the victim, also resided at Mandan.
AS will be remembered the shooting &C.
Cured in the rotunda of the Merchants
hotel shortly after II o'clock on the night OF
Sept. 7, 1856. Meade had sold out his insur
ance business at Mandan and removed to
st. Paul. and during the week previous to
the shooting had been employed as a news
paper correspondent at the state fair.
FarnSworth, who was proprietor of dry
goods and fancy goods store at Mandan,
had come to st. Paul to buy goods. He
had just returned from the opera house and
met A. H. Warren in the Merchants ro-
tunda. Meade came up and said some
thing to Farnsworth, who answered him
rather sharply. Farnswor:h then left the
hotel, returning but short time
before the shooting occurred. Mr.. War
ren's statement showed that Meade came up
and spoke to Famsworth and
enough of that kind of talk,
epithets to Farnsworth. until finally the
latter spit in Meade's face. Meade then
reached into his hip pocket and brought out
| a revolver. Warren reached for the re-
volver, and in the scuffle that ensued the
weapon was discharged, the ball taking eff
feet in Farnsworth's bowels. Meade made a
statement at police headquarters in which he
said that the shooting was purely accidental:
| that FarnSwOrth had made an effort to
strike him, and in the scuffie that ensued
| the pistol was discharged. He said that he
did not call Farnsworth any names and
| that there had been no trouble between
them. Warren's statement was corrobora-
| ted by c. w. FiSke. mail agent, and sew
eral other witnesses. Physicians were
summoned Immediately after the shooting
and it was not thought that the wound
would prove fatal. The wounded man
died Thursday night, Sept. 9, at 1920
| O'Clock. In his ante-mortem statement
FarnSworth stated that he met Meade in
the hotel; that Meade offered to shake
hands with him, but he refused; that Meade
then called him thief; that lie went away
| nd hnn ir,o hnJ fhrnA- rtfa of
an hour: that another interview oc-
Cured, during which Meade drew a re-
volver; that he grabbed Meade's hands
| and forced the revolver downward until it
was opposite his abdomen, when it was dis
charged that he was not armed and never
went armed. Meade was arranged in the
municipal court and held to the grand jury
| which convicted him of maIiSlaughter.
Since thenhe has been at the county jail
He has had many visitors during the
| months that have elapsed since his incar
ceration, and has spent much of his time
when alone i'll reading; Once or twice his
hankering to get back to his
profession has led him to spend
part of his time in writing. and
articles that he has written have been pup-
lished. just what defense will be made is
not given out by his attorneys. and there Is
much speculation over this matter. Judge
Egan, the county attorney, has asked the
assistance of Attorney General Clapp in
prosecuting the case, and additional interest
is added from this fact 1t is anticipated
that considerable time may be taken up in
selecting a jury, as from the wide ac-
quantance of both Meade and Farnsworth
in this city. the case was read and talked Of
to an unusual degree at the time the shoot
ing occurred. The case will come on at
the opening of the court this morning.